Ten people held after drugs swoop

TEN people were being questioned by gardaí last night as part of a swoop on the drugs trade in the south-east.

Five of those — three men and two women — were arrested yesterday morning at addresses in Counties Kildare and Carlow.

A further eight people who had previously been detained by gardaí as part of the operation have already been released, meaning a total of 18 people have been questioned in recent days as part of the crackdown on criminal activity in the region.

All those arrested yesterday were aged in their 20s and 30s and are being held in separate Garda stations under Section 50 of the Criminal Justice Act. They can be held for up to a week.

Earlier in the week, gardaí from Carlow, assisted by regional and national units along with officers from Revenue Customs Service, carried out searches at 27 locations in the south-east, targeting homes and businesses in Counties Carlow, Meath, Offaly, Laois, Tipperary and Waterford.

In that initial swoop, 14 separate arrests were made including 12 in Co Carlow, with others in Meath and Wexford. The youngest person detained was aged 18.

In one of the searches, a large consignment of contraband cigarettes was also discovered.

Gardaí said yesterday the operation aimed to strike a blow against organised criminal gangs and the drug trade in the region and the searches and arrests had come after a prolonged period of intelligence gathering. Since October of last year a total of €4.4 million worth of drugs, including cannabis, cocaine and amphetamines, has been seized in Carlow and across the region.